1/20/26
The scoreboard told a story that seemed impossible. 42-44. In volleyball, sets typically end at 25. This one had stretched nearly twice that length. What transpired on January 15th between Concordia Chicago and Illinois Wesleyan wasn’t just a volleyball match. It was a masterclass in perseverance, a testament to the human spirit’s refusal to yield.
The Dance at the Edge
Imagine standing at match point, knowing one mistake ends everything. Now imagine doing it not once, not twice, but seventeen times. That’s what these athletes endured. From 24-24 onward, the set became an odyssey of resilience where every point was sudden death, every serve a test of nerve, every dig a declaration of defiance.
The numbers themselves seem to defy belief. The lead changed hands like a pendulum refusing to settle. Service errors at critical moments that would have crushed lesser teams became mere footnotes in a larger narrative. When Concordia’s Jackson Stella saw his attack blocked at 26-26, giving Illinois Wesleyan the advantage, he didn’t flinch. Two plays later, he answered with a kill to tie it again at 27-27.
The Unsung Heroes
While every player contributed to this epic, certain names echo through the play-by-play like a drumbeat of determination. Elijah Mosher, Concordia’s setter, orchestrated an offensive symphony under unimaginable pressure, setting up kills for his teammates time and again when the margin for error had vanished. His assists to Stella, to Holubek, to Ford, to Anzenberger-Shea became the thread that held Concordia’s hopes together.
For Illinois Wesleyan, Ethan Kuziela emerged as a force of nature, recording kills himself while feeding his teammates with precision sets. Jace Milka refused to let his team fall, delivering crucial kills at 34-33, 35-34, and 39-39, each one staving off defeat.
The Lesson in the Numbers
What makes this set transcendent isn’t just its length. It’s what happened psychologically in those endless deuce points. Most teams crack under that pressure. Doubt creeps in. Shoulders slump. Eyes dart to the bench looking for rescue.
Not these warriors.
At 30-30, when most players’ legs would be screaming and their focus fragmenting, both teams found another gear. Concordia’s Wyatt Anzenberger-Shea delivered a block assist at 29-29, then a kill at 39-40. Tyler Holubek, whose attack error had given Illinois Wesleyan a 40-40 tie, didn’t retreat into his shell. He came right back with kills at 43-42 and the winner at 44-42.
This is perseverance in its purest form, not the absence of failure, but the refusal to be defined by it.
The Deeper Truth
Sports often mirror life’s greatest challenges. We all face moments where the finish line keeps moving, where success seems perpetually one step away, where every achievement is immediately met with a new obstacle. We’ve all been at 38-38, exhausted, wondering if we have anything left to give.
These young athletes showed us the answer. You dig deeper. You trust your training. You support your teammates. You take the next point, and then the next, without the luxury of knowing when it will end.
The final score of 42-44 means Concordia Chicago ultimately prevailed, but in a contest like this, both teams won something more valuable than a set. They proved to themselves that they could endure. They discovered that the human capacity for resilience vastly exceeds what we imagine in comfortable moments.
The Standing Ovation We Should All Give
Every person who stepped on that court on January 15th deserves recognition, not just for their athletic skill, but for their character. In an era where we often quit when things get difficult, where we swipe left when relationships require work, where we abandon goals when progress slows, these athletes showed us a different path.
They showed us that greatness isn’t about talent alone. It’s about heart. It’s about standing up one more time than you’ve been knocked down. It’s about looking at 41-41 and finding a way to keep fighting.
To every player who battled through this marathon set: Thank you. You’ve given us all a blueprint for how to face our own extended battles, whether in boardrooms or classrooms, in personal struggles or professional challenges.
The scoreboard eventually stopped. But the lesson continues.
When life takes you to deuce, and then deuce again, and then deuce seventeen more times, remember January 15th. Remember that perseverance isn’t about never falling. It’s about getting up every single time, ready to take the next point.
That’s how sets get won. That’s how lives get lived. That’s how legends get made.
